First, bathe the matter in prayer and kindness. Missionaries have a sense of God's calling that needs to be treated with respect. At the same time, churches must prayerfully seek additional confirmation of that calling.

Second, gather the needed information. W. Gordon Britt's observation, made more than 20 years ago, is still widely accepted: "The history of one's behavior, past responses, and experience tends to be the best predictor of the future. God's call and motivation are important, but in the ambiguity and stress of another culture, past experience and events tend to shape how the individual will respond.¹

Marjory Foyle, with a long and distinguished career in screening and counseling missionaries, suggests three ways to gather this information:²

Forms. A well-prepared form, like the Missionary Biographical Information Form (MBIF), prepared by MRN's Task Force for Missionary Care, seeks to obtain a complete profile of the candidate, including family, educational, and health histories.

References. Helpful references are difficult to obtain. Church leaders are reluctant to put into writing anything negative about someone who wants to serve the Lord. Request references to list their telephone numbers and then call them. Ask them for the telephone numbers of others who know the candidates and call them, too.

Personal Interviews. Foyle believes these are core to the selection process. There is the general interview to explore backgrounds and attitudes. There is also the physical examination by a medical doctor. Finally, there is the battery of psychological assessments and the clinical interview with a psychologist.

Third, search for enabling qualities. Certain characteristics are essential for a missionary to succeed. Some of these include:

Emotional maturity. Foyle believes that the most valuable missionaries are those "who have accepted their problems, begun to understand their origins, and know how to handle them." In addition to understanding their weaknesses, missionaries also need to understand their strengths.

Spiritual maturity. Howard Norton, missionary statesman in churches of Christ, adds that missionaries should be praying men and women, and students of the Word. "Spiritually mature missionaries are dedicated to Christ, doctrinally sound, zealous, and properly motivated.

Reasonable flexibility. Missionaries must adapt to a wide range of situations.

Healthy interpersonal relationships. Missionaries are in the people business and will last longer and perform better if they get along with co-workers and others.

Ability to work without close supervision. Missionaries must be self-starters, formulating and revising their plan of action and persevering, often without encouragement, until the task is accomplished.

Aptitude and skills for evangelizing, planting churches, discipling converts and training leaders. These skills should be evident before leaving for the field.

A humble, learning attitude. Missionaries must always be learners. They usually arrive as illiterates, unable to read or speak the language. They know very little about the culture and have much to learn. Humility, rather than arrogance, should be the missionary's hallmark.

Missionaries are not superpeople; they are made of clay like the rest of us. But to insure the best possible results on the field and the healthiest effect on those who are sent, churches should carefully screen their missionary candidates. Contact Missions Resource Network for a list of professionals who can help you with the screening process.

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1 Britt, W. Gordon, III. 1983. Pretraining variables in the prediction of missionary success overseas in Journal of Psychology and Theology (Fall).

2 Foyle, Marjory. 1986. How to choose the right missionary in Evangelical Missions Quarterly. 22:2 (April). Order reprints of this excellent article from EMQ.